


Everybody Knows

by twdeadfanfic



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Daryl Dixon POV, F/M, Fluff, POV Daryl Dixon, POV reader, prison era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-11-16 08:31:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18090947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twdeadfanfic/pseuds/twdeadfanfic
Summary: Daryl has a crush on Y/N, his mind wandering to her at the worst moments on its own accord, making him unable to think straight with her arround, it’s frustrating and it’s embarrassing…little do he knows that it’s exactly the same for Y/N, who’s also unable to stop her eyes from wandering to him, her mind daydreaming. All their friends, seem to know, though…could them both going to a run finally bring them together?





	Everybody Knows

**Author's Note:**

> This was a request I got in Tumblr

You knew you were supposed to be keeping watch, your eyes and attention on the prison fence and beyond, but you couldn’t help yourself and your gaze kept shifting towards Daryl, who was working on the pick-up Rick used to carry stuff around. There seemed to be something wrong with the motor and Daryl was trying to fix it.

You leaned against the railing of the watchtower as you stared at him, feeling once again those stubborn butterflies in your belly…

Daryl had saved you, months ago. Your group had been overrun by walkers but you’d managed to survive, and you’d been wandering the woods alone for a few days until you decided you needed to find supplies and had headed to the road. There you had found a gas station, but before you could check it, you’d heard a motorbike approaching and you had hidden.

It’d been Daryl, who after making sure there weren’t walkers around had opened the door, crossbow ready in front of him to take down the ones inside. There’d been more than what any of you had thought, and after considering it for a couple of seconds, you’d left your hiding spot to help him.

After clearing all the walkers, you both had stared at each other with mistrust, but then he’d asked his questions, you’d asked yours, and you’d decided he wasn’t that bad. He seemed to have thought the same of you. You both collected some supplies from the place and then Daryl had taken you to the prison. Another questioning and you’d been taken in.

At first, when you weren’t working on whatever you were told, you were either in your cell or at Daryl’s side, finding it hard to socialize with all the others, though Daryl hadn’t seemed to mind your company much. He was a bit of a loner and didn’t talk that much if you didn’t initiate the conversations, but he had been kind and gentle with you, even though sometimes he also had seemed a bit confused and awkward at having you following him around and talking to him.

Eventually, you’d become friends with everyone, but your relationship with Daryl was different, deeper. He was a good man with the best heart, and when you got him to open up you could spend hours talking with him and never get bored. One day, you realized you had fallen for him, you didn’t see him only as a good friend.

You didn’t tell him anything, afraid of scaring him and losing him. He was shy and private, and you didn’t think he’d look at you like that. You weren’t even sure if he was interested in being with someone, he didn’t seem to give much thought to stuff like that, he didn’t seem interested.

Still, the butterflies in your stomach had just gotten worse and worse, and you caught yourself staring at him, lost in your daydream, more often than you’d like. And the more you stared, the more you talked with him and spent time with him, the harder you fell. You didn’t know what to do anymore.

A snicker next to you brought you back to earth and you found Maggie looking amused at you.

“Well, Daryl must be the safest guy in the world with you keeping watch only over him.” She teased you.

“What’re you saying…” You shook your head as if she was being silly, but your cheeks heat up, betraying you. “I got a bit lost in thought, I didn’t know where I was looking.”

“Yeah, sure.” Maggie snorted. “It happens to you a lot, yeah? And always looking at Daryl.” You turned your back to her but she kept talking. “Come on, I’ve seen you with that dreamy eyes enough times.” She nudged you with her shoulder. “Are you gonna just stare at him forever or are you gonna go for it?”

“Pff.” You scoffed. “Yeah, I bet Daryl’d take that really well. Come on, Maggie, you’d known him for longer than I.”

“Well, maybe you’d be surprised? You’ll never know if you don’t try.”

“I don’t want to freak him out. He doesn’t seem the kind of guy who wants a relationship, you know.” And even if he were, that didn’t mean he’d have one with you. He hadn’t ever hinted at it, and you thought he saw you only as a friend.

“You’ll never know if you don’t try.” Maggie shrugged. “Look, Glenn’s coming, you can leave.” He pointed at the man who was making his way to the watchtower. “Why don’t you go to talk to Daryl? Just talk…”

“I don’t know…”

*

“Hi there.”

Daryl had been so engrossed with the motor of the pickup that he didn’t notice Y/N approaching until she greeted him. He looked up and saw her smiling brightly at him and his heart did a somersault.

He didn’t know what had gotten into him lately, making him have thoughts he shouldn’t about Y/N, making him all flustered and nervous when she was around. He’d thought she was a good one since that day he picked her up after she helped him clear that gas station. Then, when she had begun following him and spending time with him as she slowly got used to the place, he’d been confused at first, then he had found himself feeling protective over her and enjoying her company. It was easy to talk to her, and at the same time she didn’t mind it when he didn’t feel like talking.

But he didn’t know what was going on with him lately. When Y/N was around, his eyes seemed to wander to her on their own accord, his stomach did funny twirls sometimes when they talked, or even when his mind wandered to her, which seemed to be more often than not. It was frustrating.

He needed to stop the bullshit, it was just a matter of time before Y/N noticed and maybe when she did she wouldn’t want to be around him anymore. Which maybe would help Daryl stop those feelings, but at the same time the idea felt like a kick to the gut. Daryl didn’t want to lose her, no matter what.

He needed to take his mind off the clouds and focus.

Daryl nodded at Y/N as a greeting and focused his attention back to the motor. As always, Y/N didn’t pressure him into talking but he felt her eyes on him, watching him, making him nervous enough to cut his finger with a sharp edge of the hood.

“Shit!”

“Hey, you alright?” Y/N reached out to take his hand and inspect the cut, making him feel a rush of electricity going up his hand and through his body, and Daryl yanked his hand away roughly, sucking his finger into his mouth and feeling like an idiot.

“Sorry…” Y/N looked at him like she wasn’t sure if he was angry or not. “I can leave you alone…”

Daryl knew he was being rude but he couldn’t help it, the twirls he was feeling in his stomach making him more flustered and nervous. “I’m done here anyway.” He muttered, closing the hood of the car.

“Alright…there’s some light hours left, do you want to go hunting?”

Daryl had been teaching her how to track and hunt, but lately he’d been doing it less and less, being out there alone with her made those feelings he couldn’t get rid of stronger and stronger.

“Nah, I gotta drive this to Rick.” He didn’t even turn to look at her, afraid of his heart betraying him and going crazy, and he got into the car to drive away.

Later, though, Daryl couldn’t stop thinking about how he’d blown Y/N off, how he’d been with her. She made him nervous, made him feel things he didn’t want to, but at the same time the idea of her getting angry and not wanting to spend time with him anymore felt like a kick to the gut. Spending time with her turned him into a mess, however…he didn’t know what to do, but the idea of Y/N deciding they weren’t friends anymore had him feeling anxious, so he decided he’d apologize, maybe during dinner.

He went looking for Carol to see if she needed help cooking or something, and he found her walking out the storeroom.

“Hey, I was going to talk to you.” She smiled when she saw him, making his way to him. “I’ve been talking to Rick, we’re low on cans and preserved food, and once in winter there won’t be this much game for you to hunt.” Daryl nodded in silence. “Could you go and check this place tomorrow?” She pointed at it on a map she unfolded. “If it still has supplies, we’ll send a group.”

“Alright.” Daryl took the map, folding it again.

“You shouldn’t go alone, though.”

Daryl scoffed. “I’m fine alone, it wouldn’t be the first time.

“Still, we talked about it at the last council meeting, nobody goes on runs alone.” Carol reminded him and Daryl rolled his eyes. “Don’t you remember?”

“Yeah, alright, I’ll ask someone.”

“You could ask Y/N, she’s free tomorrow.” Carol gave him a knowing smile and Daryl couldn’t help but turn defensive.

“Why her?”

“Why not?”

Daryl shrugged, he didn’t know what to say. The idea of explaining to Carol the feelings that Y/N gave him mortified him, though he felt she knew. It wasn’t the first time Carol talked him about Y/N or asked him to do things with her, and she always had that smile on her face while doing so, as if she could read his mind.

“It’s just I think you seem to really like to spend time with her. Well, I don’t think it, I know it.” Carol chuckled quietly and Daryl shrugged again, looking down, hoping he wouldn’t blush. “And I know she really likes to spend time with you.” Just like that, Daryl’s heart was beating faster, he wasn’t able to control it. “So, since you both are free tomorrow, I thought it’d be a good idea if you both go together to the run.”

“Don’t care…”

“Great, it’s settled then. Just don’t get too distracted like that time you went hunting with her and came back without anything” Carol winked at him and Daryl felt his cheeks burn.

“It was cos I let her try and I spent all the light hours teaching her to track.” He grumbled. “If I’d have wanted to hunt something, I would.”

“Whatever.” Carol ignored him, turning to walk to the kitchen. “By the way, she doesn’t know about the run, so you have to tell her.”

Once dinner was cooked, Daryl took a bowl for Y/N and went to see if she was in her cell to apologize and ask her to go to tomorrow’s run with him. She was in there, sitting on the bed and reading a book, and Daryl knocked on the door’s bars before walking in.

“Hi.” She gave him a small smile, but it wasn’t as friendly and bright like the ones he was used to, the ones that made his heart go crazy, and Daryl wondered if she was upset with him.

“Hey, I brought you dinner.” Daryl handed her the bowl and Y/N looked at him weird.

“You didn’t have to, I was about to go have dinner with everyone else.”

Daryl shrugged, unsure of what to say and feeling awkward. “It’s okay I have to talk to you anyway.”

“Okay.” She nodded, more serious than she usually looked when they were together, which just made Daryl more nervous. “Go ahead.”

“I, um…” He chewed on his lower lip and decided to apologize before telling her about the run. “I’m sorry about earlier, when I was fixing the car.”

Y/N looked at him for a second but then she shrugged and began to fidget, looking down. “It’s okay. I know that I’ve been…I don’t know, kind of following you around a lot, so if you want me to back off a bit, well, it’s-”

“What? No.” Daryl didn’t let her finish, frowning at the idea of her thinking he didn’t like to spend time with her, no matter the feelings she gave him. “I…I like it when you are around.” He added quietly, blushing and looking down.

“Yeah? That’s…that’s good to know. Cos I like it too.”

When Daryl looked up Y/N was looking at him with her bright smile, her cheeks blushed, and Daryl’s heart began beating fast, going nervous again but he tried to control it, glad that matter was settled.

“Carol wants us to go on a run to a nearby place tomorrow, check if there’re supplies.” He remembered he had gone there to ask her that, his mind having gone a little blank as he stared at her.

“Okay, sure.” She nodded, still with that smile that made something flutter inside his belly, and he nodded too. “You know what, why don’t you go grab your dinner and come back, and we can eat together while making plans for tomorrow?”

“Yeah, alright.”

*

You made sure your backpack was securely strapped to you before getting behind Daryl on his bike. You held to him, wrapping your arms around his middle, feeling a bit guilty about how much you enjoyed having your arms around him and being this close.

“You ready?” Daryl asked you over his shoulder.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

Carl and Rick opened the prison’s doors and off you went. As Daryl speeded up you used it as an excuse to hold to him a bit tighter. You were so glad he had wanted to go with you to the run. You’d been a bit worried about how he had ignored you yesterday, wondering if maybe he was tired of you always being around him. You had thought maybe he actually didn’t like to spend time with you as much as you’d thought, maybe he was just polite but he was tired of it. Or maybe he had noticed your feelings and he wanted nothing to do with you anymore.

But later he had seemed back to normal, bringing you dinner and asking you to go to the run, and then you both had spent the next couple of hours talking in your room until it was time to sleep. Now he didn’t seem to mind your arms tight around him either. You were relieved, but now you were more uncertain about confessing your feelings to him someday, afraid it’d drive him away.

After a little while through small, secondary roads, you reached your destination, a small warehouse. Daryl stopped the bike and you let go of him, holding onto his shoulders to get off the bike and looking around.

“You think we’ll find something here?”

“Don’t know… come on.”

You both checked the perimeter and didn’t find any walkers around, but neither anything useful. When Daryl knocked on the door, though, there was some banging from the inside, walkers were looked in, pushing at the door relentlessly.

“Maybe we should come back with a group.” You said while Daryl inspected the lock to see if he could pick it. “It sounds like there’re several of them there.”

“Nah, we ain’t making a group come if there’s nothing inside, don’t think they’re that many, listen to it.” Daryl kept working on the lock until it opened.

“Alright…” You decided the banging sounded like a group of them, but not one you both couldn’t deal with. “How do we do it?”

“You open the door, make sure to stay behind it so they don’t see you and then move away, I’ll shoot them as they go out.”

You nodded, it was a good plan. “Okay, but you could open the door and I start shooting them with my gun, it’ll be faster than the crossbow.”

“No way.”

“Come on, Daryl, you know I have good aim.” You rolled your eyes. “You can join me at shooting once they’re distracted by me.”

Daryl thought it for a moment, looking back and forth from the door to you, and you were growing impatient but finally he nodded.

“Alright, let’s go.”

You stepped back to a distance you deemed safe enough and held your gun in front of you. “Ready.”

Daryl opened the door but less than halfway, knife on hand, and instead of hiding behind it he began to sink the knife into the heads of the walkers while trying to stop them from opening the door more.

“What are you doing?!” You couldn’t risk shooting with him in the middle, and by the look of it, the walkers were probably too many for Daryl to put them down by himself like that, no matter how skilled you knew he was. You didn’t know what had gotten into him.

You let go of your gun in favor of your knife and rushed to the door, helping Daryl to put down the walkers like that. Once all them were dead, you turned to glare at Daryl, your heart beating so fast, scared, that you thought it was going to jump out of your chest.

“What the hell was that?!” You almost but yelled at him.

“Didn’t want to risk them getting to you.” Daryl shrugged, defensive and looking down, and you scoffed, shaking your head in disbelieve.

“You think I can’t handle to shoot some walkers?!”

“Ain’t that, just-”

“And you knew there were a lot of them!” You didn’t let him finish, you couldn’t believe he’d do something like that. “That was reckless! They could have killed you!”

“They wouldn’t!” Daryl snapped. “I could have killed them all by myself, I didn’t need you!”

“God, you’re infuriating sometimes!” You snapped back, you’ve been so scared for him. “It was dangerous and reckless, and you know it! What the hell were you thinking?!”

“Ain’t my fault I can’t think straight when you’re around!” Daryl sounded as angry as you, face red, and as he said that his gaze dropped to the ground again.

You didn’t know what to say to that, taken aback and confused, you weren’t sure of what he meant. Daryl had turned away from you, seeming awkward, so you decided not to push it for now. But you wanted to know what he meant.

“What if they’d bitten you, Daryl?” You said softer this time, although you were still scared. “What if they’d pushed the door open and killed you.”

“They wouldn’t, I got it” Daryl just shrugged without looking at you.

“They could, they were a lot, Daryl! We had a plan!” Your voice rose again but you took a deep breath, trying to calm down the beating of your heart. “What would have I done then, uh? I don’t want to even think it!” You felt like crying at the idea. “You can’t do shit like that…I don’t want to lose you, okay? I care about you…” Your angry voice softened, turning vulnerable, and you looked down, fidgeting. You weren’t sure if Daryl was going to snap again or not.

For a moment, Daryl didn’t say anything, shifting his weight from foot to foot awkwardly as he looked anywhere but at you. “I care about you too.” He muttered without looking at you, and the butterflies in your stomach began dancing again at his words. “That’s why I couldn’t let them get you.”

You didn’t know what to say, you were still scared about what he had done and what could have happened, but now your heart was beating like crazy not only because of that but because of Daryl’s words. Him saying that you didn’t let him think straight, that he cared for you too…you didn’t know what to think. You couldn’t get too excited about it, didn’t want to let yourself think that maybe he felt for you a bit like you felt for him. It could be just him being a good friend, you knew Daryl had a big heart and cared a lot for people. But still…

“And I’m grateful you do, I really am. I told you I care for you too, so the idea of walkers getting you…” You shuddered. “You never, ever do something like that again, please. We had a plan, whatever happens, we face it together, okay? We help each other, we take care of each other, alright?”

Daryl seemed reluctant for a bit before finally nodding, and looking at you. His cheeks were still red but he gave you a tiny, crooked smile that had the butterflies in your belly going crazy again.

“You okay?” You asked and he nodded.

“You?”

“Yeah…yeah, I’m okay.”

“Alright…” Daryl still seemed a bit awkward, but his tiny smile was still there. “Come on, let’s check the inside.”

“Just…on a second…”

Daryl frowned as if he thought there was something wrong and then blinked in surprise as you moved closer, reaching out your arms. He’d scared you so much, you were so relieved he was okay, and were so happy about the things he’d said, that you felt like hugging him, you couldn’t help it, and you hoped he wouldn’t be awkward about it.

Carefully, you wrapped your arms loosely around him. He stiffed but before you pulled back he wrapped his arms around you too and began to relax. You dared to hold him a bit tighter at that and gently, Daryl held you closer, running his fingers through your hair so softly that you barely felt him, allowing you to bury your face on the crook of his shoulder and making the butterflies inside your belly go as out of control as the beating of your heart.

You pulled back and you bit your lip but couldn’t help your shy smile as you looked at him, resting your hands gently on his chest while he kept his on your waist, swallowing hard as he looked at you.

“I don’t want to make this weird…” You began softly. “But I gotta tell you something and I think maybe if I don’t do it now I won’t ever do it.” You took a deep breath. “I…well… I really like you, not only as a friend, I can’t help it…” You shrugged, looking down.

Daryl didn’t say anything and you didn’t know if that was good or not. You ventured a look at him and he was looking down, seeming thoughtful, but he hadn’t pushed you away, he still had his hands on your waist and you felt the nervous pitter-patter of his fingers.

“I don’t say it cos I expect anything from you or nothing…” You whispered.

“I, erm…” Daryl began to say something but stopped, swallowing hard. “I think…well…I think I feel like you.” He whispered without looking at you.

Your heart began beating like crazy, excited, you couldn’t help it. “Yeah?”

He nodded, still looking down. “Told you, can’t think straight when you’re around, I got distracted by you, it’s frustrating.”

You chuckled at that, you could barely believe it. “It happens to me too, yesterday I was in the watchtower but my eyes didn’t want to focus on that, I kept looking at you as you worked on that car…” You admitted, blushing.

Daryl looked at you at that, his cheeks blushed too, but his mouth twitched into a tiny smile. He looked at you, chewing on his lower lip, seeming to be considering something, and you waited for him to say something but he didn’t. Instead, he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of your mouth.

It was so sweet you could just grin at him, the butterflies in your belly throwing a party. He was looking at you, seeming nervous and insecure, but he smiled when you reached out to brush your fingers over his cheekbone, leaning into your touch.

“Maybe then…” You ventured. “We could give this a try, you know, be together as more than friends.”

Daryl nodded once, still seeming a bit nervous, but before he could say anything a banging coming from inside the warehouse caught both your attention and Daryl pulled away from you, crossbow aimed in front of him in a second, but no walker stumbled towards you.

“I guess it’s trapped somewhere,” you said.

“I’m gonna check.”

He lowered the crossbow and began walking into the warehouse. You followed him, reaching to hold his hand. “Not alone, remember.” His hand twitched on yours and he looked at you but then he smiled softly, relaxing and lacing his fingers with you.

*

It didn’t take you both long to clear through the warehouse, putting down a couple of walkers locked inside some storerooms and collecting a few cans of food and a more than welcome bag of seeds. There wasn’t enough stuff to send a group, you could carry it in the bags Daryl had attached to his bike and your backpack. You wished you could have found the place full of stuff, but at least it was something.

“You sure that’s not too heavy?” Daryl pointed at your backpack. “I can try to tie it to the bike.”

“Nah, it’s okay.”

“Alright.” Daryl got onto the bike and turned on the engine. “Let’s go back.”

You nodded and held onto his shoulder but before swinging your leg over the bike you reached out your other hand to cup his face, making him look at you and brushing his hair away from his face. Daryl looked at you, seeming a bit confused, before closing his eyes and leaning into your touch. You used your knuckles under his chin to lift his head, and you kissed his lips softly.

Daryl opened his eyes when you pulled back, seeming a bit like in awe, and you couldn’t help your smile, running your fingers over his cheekbone before finally getting onto the bike. You wrapped your arms around him, hugging him and pressing your face onto his back for a second before pulling back and loosening your grip a bit, enough for you to hold securely to him. Daryl looked at you over his shoulder with a small smile, placing his hand over yours for a second before kicking the bike into motion.

Once you arrived at the prison, Daryl parked the bike at the back of it with the other vehicles. You held him tight to you for a couple of seconds, pressing a kiss to his shoulder before dismounting, still finding it hard to believe that you were allowed to do that, that you were together.

Daryl got off the bike and surprised you reaching out to take your hand and lace your fingers, making the butterflies in your belly dance again as he pressed a tentative kiss to your lips.

You heard a chuckle and broke away from Daryl, finding Rick looking at you both, seeming surprised, an amused smile on his face.

“Sorry to interrupt.”

“What you laughing at?” Daryl barked, pulling away from you, his cheeks blushed.

“Nothing, just…it was past time.” Rick shook his head, chuckling. “How long have you both been crushing on each other?”

Daryl scoffed and turned away from Rick to fumble with the bags of his bike. You were a bit embarrassed too, but you couldn’t help your smile.

“Hey, I’m happy! It was frustrating for all of us watching you both staring lovingly at each other without doing anything, seriously.” Rick kept teasing, no matter how uncomfortable Daryl was, it seemed to amuse him more.

“You gonna stand there smiling like an idiot or are you gonna help us carry this shit inside?” Daryl snapped.

“Yeah, yeah.” Rick nodded but didn’t move closer, still grinning. “Actually…I have to go talk to Carol, she’ll be happy to know how successful this run was too.” Rick chuckled again and left towards the building.

Daryl scoffed and you looked at him, giving him a smile and reaching out your hand to him. He took it, lacing your fingers, the corner of his mouth twitching into a tiny smile, even though he still seemed embarrassed. You pulled him closer and kissed his blushed cheek.

“I know it’s not fun to have them gossiping but it’s because they care.” You told him gently. “And I’m really, really glad Carol sent us to this run.”

Daryl’s fingers played nervously with yours but he smiled. 

“Yeah, yeah, me too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for reading! I hope you liked it! If you have a moment, please let me know your thoughts in the comments, your feedback makes my day!
> 
> As always, English is not my first language so sorry if there are mistakes.


End file.
